Grace and Honor
by Omegaprime02
Summary: One Cursed, One Blessed, shackled together by the Bonds of Fate search for Strength and Meaning. Their bound Future ripe with Triumph and Disaster both seek a better life for the other, free from chains of servitude for one and freedom from sickness for the other. Both unwilling to compromise the other's ideals. A single uncertain future awaits them.
1. These Final Hours

To begin, I've muddled around the site for several years, but the few stories that I have put up have never been completed. I'm hoping to correct that and finally complete one with this story.

I apologize for any grammatical issues, I have not actually written anything for the last year or two, so I am beyond rusty.

There will be some mature themes sprinkled about dealing with inter-species relationships, nothing raunchy will be uploaded, rest assured anything talked about was _consensual_ and between _entities_ capable of _rational thought_ with, at minimum, _human-level intelligence_. Some people may take offense to how I deal with such issues. **You have been warned on this matter. ** No crying to mommy if you can't deal with a different mindset than your own.

Also, I tried to make a joke about human-level intelligence in that last bit. I failed.

I'm writing this story to create a backboard off which to reboot Black Adventure with a proper back story rather than stealing it from another author (Kgmck177).

As always, any review is appreciated.

Finally, the obligatory 'I don't own shit' speech follows this:**  
**

_**I do not own Pokémon or any aspect of**_** Pokémon.** If I did, I would not slave away at a 2-11 job every evening.

_**Any likeness to any human being (or other entity), dead, living, or unborn is purely**__** coincidental.**_ I'm a writer, not a historian/prophet/avid-newspaper-reader.

* * *

Relvic looked down at the last five syringes in his shaking right hand, "If I only had more time..."

He could barely think as he plunged the syringes into his gut and triggered the auto-injection process, the final five doses of his synthesized medication blasted into his already saturated bloodstream.

The new pain in his stomach was nothing compared to the torturous pain from the 18 previous injections he had administered to himself, however it was enough to cause him to heave. Bright red fluids flowed from his mouth mixed with bile, he had already purged himself earlier, whether it was after the third or fourth injection he couldn't recall, with all the pain he had endured over the last few hours even his perfect memory had begun to fragment.

As he slowly stood upright his view drifted to he sealed chamber connected to the machine he had rushed to complete. Though faint he could feel the occupants mind brush against his, _Don't...you...Death...cold_

A small smile touched Relvic's lips as he whispered, "We've already passed that point." Using almost all of his remaining strength, Relvic pulled himself into the bed mounted within the secondary chamber he had hastily constructed in the brief strength his medication had granted him. In these last 6 hours he had been stronger on his own that in the rest of his life, even as his body fell and tore itself apart to fight what it had sensed as a foreign intruder, and the altered cells it had left in its wake. Relvic croaked, trying desperately to maintain awareness for just a few more moments, "Activate Lazarus Genetic Drift Protocol." As the chamber began to close, despite never being religious in his life he found words passing through his lips, "Arceus, if you exist, please, let this work, pay no attention to me, spare Rain in my place, please."

The chamber sealed with a click and a hiss, he could only barely feel the nutrient rich liquid begin to engulf him. He only coughed and sputtered for a moment before his body drew breath reflexively, he had no energy to enter even attempt at a fight or flight reaction. Though Relvic had resigned himself to death, he knew that the fluid would not kill him, it was saturated with enough oxygen to inhale, no his death would be long and drawn out, much of his body would be picked apart for genetic material that matched his lifelong friend's, the machine would try to keep him alive to the best of its ability, but he doubted that it would be able to stabilize his rapidly changing genetics without killing him.

He could feel Rain's mind against his, terror seeping in through the cracks time had worn between their minds, _Why?_

Though no longer able to speak, Relvic hoped that she could still feel his thoughts, _You gave me hope, life, and a future beyond what my frail body would have been able to take on its own. I want you to live the life I took from you, a life of freedom, I don't want to hold you in any one place any longer. _Relvic pulled his thoughts away from her for a moment, _I remember every breath you gave me, every second you kept me alive, every moment I never deserved. Please, let me give you happiness just once._

He could feel a great sadness wash over him, _Never once in the last eighty-eight seasons did I ever not have happiness! Your life is no more important than mine, you should live!_

Rain was about to continue when Relvic stopped her, _We both know what would happen to me if you died and I lived. My life would be only more painful, and ever brief. Three minutes is all that I'd last...Please, let the end of my life mean something._

_You've lived for what? One hundred seasons? Less? In that time you have helped more people than I could ever hope to meet! _Relvic could feel her begin to cry_ Why? Why! Why do you have to die?_

_Because, I was born to, three years is all that I would have lived without you! You sacrificed your own freedom to keep me alive! If I don't do this we both die. We still could anyway! _Relvic heard the machine begin to spin up, _Please, in these last few hours can we remember the good times?_ _One final embrace before our world changes forever?_


	2. Make or Break

I'm releasing this chapter immediately so that people can see what to expect in the future. This chapter is largely focused around one of the technological advances that will allow the Black Adventure to occur.

Before you ask, Relvic suffers from a hypothetical genetic defect called Stralocke Syndrome. It is somewhat explained in within this chapter.

Also, this is about 6 years earlier. I'm still working on an exact timeframe.

* * *

Relvic looked over at Rain cautiously as the trainer said impatiently, "I challenged you, now get ready to lose!"

Relvic sighed, he wasn't a registered trainer, and Rain was a Class C assistance Pokémon, technically he could decline and just tell the trainer to bugger off. He could feel the annoyance radiating away from Rain as a question popped into his mind, _Why do these jerks always challenge us?_

_Because only a few people in this Region have ever seen a Gardevoir, let alone one with your...differences. Most seem to think that you're a battler by your stats. We can decline._

A sinister smile twisted Rain's normally graceful face, _Why would we do that?_

Relvic couldn't help but allow his lips to curl in a wicked grin as well as he slung the messenger bag from his shoulder, _Very well, what should we open with?_ Rain stepped in front of Relvic and braced herself

The trainer sneered and attempted to mock Relvic, "Looks like your Pokémon wears the pants in-"

Relvic cut the young man off, "We're both telepathic idiot. While you've been sneering we were coming up with a battle plan."

The trainer scowled at Relvic before summoning his first Pokemon, "Rhyhorn, show that dancer a good time!"

The two-hundred fifty pound creature roared

Relvic peered through Rain's latent prerogative power through the link that bonded them together and advised Rain, _Dodge right, 2 seconds, follow-up with Dual Skill Nova._

The trainer commanded the brutish monster, "Headbutt, steamroll her!"

The Rhyhorn charged, head lowered to smash Rain into a pulp. A deft dodge to the right was all it took to confuse the dim Pokémon. As the tips of Rain's dress whipped past the beasts face Relvic could feel as she pulled a massive chunk of psychic energy from him to power two moves simultaneously. A Hyper-beam shot forward from her left hand while she warped the space in front of the ability in on itself using a massively enhanced Psychic. The resulting orb was blinding. The sensory horns that had grown on the back of Rain's wrists to support the massive psychic power that constantly flowed through her began to shimmer a purple as the orb shot toward the lumbering Pokémon. The instant the attack hit the Rhyhorn, Rain's psychic bonding unraveled and released the densely packed power from the Hyper-beam. The resulting detonation rocked the ground.

The Rhyhorn's hide took the attack with little wear, however the blast had knocked it clean off its footing, the resulting impact resulted in an instant KO. Relvic smiled and asked, "Do you want to continue?"

The trainer stood in awe for a few moments, "What was that?"

"The attack is called Nova, Rain here is the only Pokémon in the world that can use it. It is what's known as a Dual Skill."

The trainer recalled his battered partner, "Isn't that a championship level thing?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes."

The trainer stared at Relvic, "Then what are you doing here?"

Relvic laughed, "Honestly? I'm on my way into the Lumiose City to visit the patent office, I'm not even a registered trainer, Rain here is my assistance Pokémon."

Rain stood just behind Relvic and reached out to hand him his bag, _We'll be late if we take any more time._

Relvic smiled as he took the messenger bag from Rain, "Sorry, we need to go, I have a meeting to keep."

The two took off, assisted by a psychic field that lessened gravity's effect that allowed them to bound forward at unnatural speeds across the dusty wasteland as they approached the city along Kalos Route 13. Their final bound over a cliff took them over the wall that surrounded the city. Relvic had to take partial control of Rain's abilities to keep from slamming into a storefront. They drifted to the ground and looked around while gaining their bearings. After a few moments the two again launched themselves forward toward their destination near the center of the city.

Relvic looked toward the tower in the center of the plaza, "Wow...the pictures don't do it justice..."

Rain pulled on Relvic psychically, _We've got two minutes!_

Relvic turned toward the small office building, "Here we go..."

Thirty minutes later the patent agent returned from her lunch to a nervous Relvic.

"Oh shit! I completely forgot! I'm so sorry!" Was all the agent could say.

"It's fine, we were a little late anyway."

"Follow me to my office, let's get this underway." The two were led to an office and seated across a desk, "Alright...my name is Sharon, you made this appointment to present an invention, right? Normally people bring in blueprints and theories, but you have an actual working prototype."

"I do," Relvic opened his bag and rummaged around for a few moments before pulling a device foot long, three-inch thick device from a pocket, "This is only a small-scale unit, but I'd like to think that it'll revolutionize power production."

The woman looked at the device for a few moments, "What is it?"

Relvic pressed the release button and the device hissed as the integrated magnetic array deployed and hovered an unnaturally black crystal above the device, "It's an energy-absorption matrix, this small one can absorb almost any kind of energy, this one is tuned to accept everything from ten to the fourteenth hertz and up, that includes some heat and all visible light. It also absorbs compressive waveforms and any electrical strikes."

"How much power?"

"A device this size, if placed in direct sunlight produces enough power for the average house for a week within around six hours, it can't store it unfortunately."

Sharon looked at the device for a few moments, "How does it convert the energy?"

"The crystal absorbs it and expels the built up energy toward the base as a tuned photonic beam, that uses tech similar to what the power station on Route 13 uses to get energy down from orbit, there's a lot less energy loss to atmosphere because the distance is so short."

The woman looked impressed, "Why are you trying to get it patented here in Kalos and not your home Region?"

Relvic closed the device and smiled, "The man who is leading our Region is more interested in weapons technology and war-machines than a power source."

"Does it have military applications?"

"If you tune it just right it'll suck the heat out of the air, I've modified this unit to fry itself if someone attempted that, and that limiter is present in the design I'm patenting."

"Can someone just take the crysta-"

Relvic cut her off, "No, without the array the crystals are harmonically unstable," He pulled another unit from his pack and opened it before pulling the crystal away from the device with all his strength, a fraction of a second after it was removed from the field it turned blue and crumbled to dust before surrendering to oblivion, "The crystal atomizes if unsupported." Relvic returned the unit to his bag, "The device is also the manufacturing array for the crystals, input in the megawatt range causes the field to crystallize, for when someone does try to pull the crystal out like that. And yes, they could build a stabilization array, but someone would have to hide the thing in a mountain to have the power to remove a single crystal."

Sharon looked at Relvic for a moment, "How did you make it?"

"I took power from a micro-fusion reactor and used it to produce a large-scale crystal. From there I actually took the time to refine the technology."

"I'll get the designs put in right away, I doubt we'll have any problems getting it in." Sharon began to type furiously on her keyboard. As Relvic and Rain stood to leave she stopped and looked at Rain, "An old friend of mine is in town, I think that she's love to meet you two, she's always going on and on about people who will bring forth a brighter future. I think that you'd fit that description perfectly."

Relvic and Rain sat at one of the outdoor tables in front of Cafe Soleil. Rain carefully sipped from a tea-cup while Relvic took a swig of the strongest coffee the establishment had to offer.

Rain's voice popped into Relvic's head, _Master, you really shouldn't drink that stuff, you're still growing._

Relvic sighed and put the coffee down, _Two things: One, I'll drink coffee if I want to; Two, how many times have I told you not to call me 'Master' over the last year?_

Rain looked down, _More times than I care to count, however that is how our relationship seems to most, and how it should be._

Relvic recoiled mentally, he was able to mask it physically before reaching out and squeezing Rain's shoulder, "Don't look so depressed." _What we did last year was a mistake on my part, you only followed my lead. Please forgive me._

Rain smiled weakly and looked at his face, head still lowered, _I already have, I just don't want to hurt you like that again..._

Relvic squeezed a little tighter and smiled, _I hurt you so much more, I'm more worried about you than me. Please no more of this master-servant bullshit._

Rain looked up and smiled warmly, _I'll try._

A woman dressed in white approached, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Relvic looked up and quickly pulled his had away from Rain, "No, nothing especially important."

They could both tell that the woman saw straight through the lie, "Relvic and Rain, right?"

"That would be us."

The woman smiled warmly, "I'm Diantha, I was told that you're changing tomorrow."

Relvic and Rain returned the smile in unison while Relvic responded, "I like to think so."

Motioning at the third empty chair Diantha asked, "May I?"

Relvic nodded, "Of course," as he reached into his bag to pull his prototype out to put it on the table

"So this little machine is it?" Diantha said picking the device up

Relvic nodded, "Yes, with this our dependence on fossil fuels and Pokémon for power will disappear."

"It'll put a lot of people out of work, and cost some very rich people a lot of money." she said pointing the device at Relvic.

"It won't be over night, the manufacturing and construction required for a Regionally centralized system will be massive, large-scale reactors will still need a lot of workers, and many Regions would need to supplement their power infrastructure, especially at higher latitudes." Relvic chuckled, "I aim to change the world, not give it miracles that it can't support."

"So what do you plan to do until these changes occur?"

"I hope to release personal units for things like space heating and personal electronics, his device is actually larger than the unit's I want to have on the market."

Diantha eyed Relvic cautiously, "It sounds like you'll become very rich."

"Rich? Arceus no, I plan to sell the things at 3% over production, with 15% of that as royalties, enough to live happily, not lavishly, besides, my family left me plenty of money."

"You seem to have though this trough..."

"I have Stralocke Syndrome, my brain processes and stores information differently."

Diantha looked at Relvic puzzled, "I can't say I've ever heard of Stralocke Syndrome."

"Most people haven't," Relvic smiled weakly, "It's incredibly rare, somewhere in the ballpark of one out of every eight-hundred million, and it usually kills by age four."

Diantha looked at him unimpressed, "Then how are you alive?"

Relvic motioned at Rain, who smiled, "Rain keeps me alive, my muscles are mostly ultra high density fat, they feel like normal muscle but with no pulling power. Without her, I'd collapse and suffocate within 3 minutes."

Diantha looked down in shame, "Sorry, I should have noticed."

Relvic smiled warmly, "No one does, Rain does a remarkable job allowing me to have a normal life."

Diantha looked up and smiled, "The bond between you two must be remarkable. I'm close friends with my Gardevoir, but you two...it must be a...beautiful relationship. If only more people were like you two."

Relvic and Rain smiled in unison, unsure how to take the comment. "Thank you."

Diantha looked between the two, "Have you considered attempting the Kalos League?"

"Oh, no, I'm not even a registered trainer in our home Region, we aren't even close to being able to earn a national license." Relvic said waving his hand.

"Then I challenge you to an unregulated match."

Relvic stopped, "What?"

"I challenge you to an unregulated match. I want to see what you two can do."

Relvic stuttered, looking back at Rain, who shrugged, "Well...Ok...but..."

"I know just the place, follow me!" Diantha said before abruptly standing up and taking off in the toward the center of town. Rain and Relvic followed closely, "By the way, what happened to Rain? She doesn't have the normal spikes I'm used to see on a Gardevoir, is it just because she's a shiny?"

Relvic looked at Rain, "No, she evolved while in the middle of combat, her sensory horn broke and fused with her shoulder blades, honestly it looks better than it should." He was talking about the wide sensory horn that bridged across Rain's back, "The back of her wrists developed later, the single horn couldn't handle the stress so she kinda evolved again."

"Interesting," Was all she said as they approached the Prism Tower. Diantha slowed as she enter the building, "Clemont, I know you can hear me, I need to borrow your training arena."

A child's voice boomed over a loudspeaker system, "Wha? Why?"

"You'll see." Was Diantha's only response as she pushed at a wall and opened a hidden door to a large elevator. She motioned at Relvic and Rain, "Well come on!"

The two looked at one another before rushing to board the elevator. Rain asked, with a worried tone in her thoughts, _She just ordered a gym leader around...what does that make her?_

As the elevator began to drop Relvic answered, _Elite Four at least, maybe even Champion. She's giving us a Regional League Override test. If we can beat her here, we'll be allowed to challenge the Regional gyms, and the Regional Elite Four officially._

_What would that mean for us?_

The elevator began to slow, _We'll be able to apply for Kalos citizenship, it'll give us the ability to escape the Veltrak Region once and for all._

_Wouldn't that mean that we have to leave everything behind? _Rain thought, worried.

The Elevator stopped, _No, I've been transferring money into a Kanto bank for years for when we had to make a break for it._

The doors opened into a massive underground arena, "I need to know the regional rules."

"This is an unregulated match, you don't need them." Diantha stated plainly before stepping out of the elevator.

Relvic followed her closely, "You're someone high up in the League, otherwise you wouldn't have the authority to commandeer a stadium."

"Maybe I know Clemont personally." She said smiling.

"Maybe, but everyone in town was gawking at you, you're a celebrity."

"I'm an actor, but your right, I'm also the acting Kalos Region Champion."

Relvic stopped, "I have a request."

Diantha stopped and turned to face him, "And what would that be?"

Relvic stated his request with absolute determination, "If I win, I want you to have me made a Kalos citizen. I don't want to go back to a Region that is more focused on weapons than its citizens."

A smile touched Diantha's lips as she motioned toward Relvic's place on the field, "You have my word."

Relvic moved to the spot, _We have to win, we're not going to hold anything back, understand Rain? _Rain didn't respond as she fell into a battle stance, grim determination on her face and in her mind.

* * *

Sorry about this, I'm still writing the battle out, it was originally only a few paragraphs long, but something more epic felt right. It's going to take me a few days to complete it, sorry about the delay


	3. Pushed

OK, to begin with, I have been rewriting this chapter for almost a week now, the battle is nowhere near how I want it to be...

On another note, I'd like input, do the people reading prefer longer chapters like what I'm _trying_ to write or one-to-two thousand word connected segments?

Just so you know, I already have part of another chapter this long left, it anyone want's me to push what I've got done, I will.

Reviews are, as always, welcome. As are questions, I'm sure I'm loosing people somewhere...

Dialog Key:

"Normal human speech"

_Mental communication, link or telepathic in nature_

**Pokespeak**

* * *

"Shall we begin?"

"One question, do you allow compound abilities?"

"If you can, don't stress if you can't."

Four abilities popped into Relvic's head, _We'll try to limit ourselves to Hyper-beam, Psychic, Moonblast, and Magical Leaf, but be ready for anything_

Diantha began to summon her first Pokemon. Time seemed to slow as Rain responded, _We're running into this one blind_

"Gardevoir, I chose you!"

Diantha's Pokemon fully materialized, _Rel, around her neck...is that..._

"Gardevoirite..." Relvic muttered, is gaze drifted toward Diantha's neck, around which a necklace with a multicolored gem hung. A wicked smile touched his lips as he held his hand up, "Give me a moment, if you're going to use Mega-Evolution it's only fair if we do as well."

Diantha paused for a few moments as Relvic rummaged through the bag he had slung across his shoulder. With all the sound that came from the bag she would not have been surprised if the bag held everything he owned, including a kitchen sink. His left had emerged from the bag with a black light gauntlet inlaid with a similar multicolored stone to the one within the charm hanging from her neck. A genuine smile touched her lips as she focused on the link between her and her Gardevoir.

Rain and Relvic did the same and as the bond between Relvic and Rain grew in strength the Gardevoirite inlaid within the sensory horn on Rain's right hand began to glow. A golden aura began to glow around Relvic while Rain's white and blue dress billowed into a black ball-gown, additional sensory spikes formed down Rain's back from underneath the malformed horn and where they should have been normally on her front. The horn on her right hand became a crystalline rose while the left became a loop. Time seemed to slow as their minds came close. Rain could feel the power within her explode as the mental distance to the gigantic store of psychic energy within Relvic became a non-factor. Relvic could feel well beyond himself into the ether that surrounded them, populated by specters and minds. He reached forward to probe the link between their opponents and found a wall of indomitable will and unbreakable faith.

Grim determination filtered into the air as Diantha stated clearly, "We will hold nothing back, I suggest you do the same."

Rain and Relvic immediately went on the offensive and battered their opponent with a barrage of near zero-energy Psychics to try and knock her off her feet before firing a salvo of magical leaves. Diantha's Gardevoir took the brunt of the attack without flinching before launching her own Shadow Ball barrage. Relvic focused the entirety of his mind on the defense of his partner as she began to charge for her next attack. The Champion's Pokemon only strengthened her assault until she was launching as many Shadow Ball attacks at her opponent as her frail form would allow. Relvic found his defenses overwhelmed as the number of attacks propelled toward them. Both minds instantly converged upon one goal: Redirect the offense they faced. Relvic took command of all but one focusing horn and drew the ghostly attacks all into a single point in front of their shared form as Rain began to charge Hyper-beams in a loop, reabsorbing the massive energies unleashed and preparing for a single, devastating, beam.

Diantha's Gardevoir saw the strike coming and ceased the barrage to dodge it. She had not expected the entrapped attacks to suddenly shift and take pursuit after her while the massive beam dragged along as Rain attempted to zero in on her target, arms opened wide. After a few tense seconds the redirected attacks finally overcame their target and began to hammer into her form before the charged Hyper-beam found home, imparted force kicked the championship hardened Pokemon like a rag-doll for almost the length of the arena before it used its psychic capabilities to right itself and float to the ground.

Rain barely had time to smell the air ionize around her before a Thunderbolt connected and forced its way through her body to ground. Followed by another. And another. Rain fell to her knees as an impenetrable field wrapped around her form and condensed water in the air to redirect the crackling energy away from her form. Rain recovered as a tenth and eleventh bolt grounded around her before raising her hands on high and calling forth the power of the moon, as it descended a psychic force shattered the energy into millions of psychically charged particles. Relvic reached forward and dragged their opponent in close as the moon dust condensed around her and hardened. Rain began to call forth the power of the moon once more as a Hyper-beam blasted toward the shimmering sphere far above, as the two abilities collided Relvic once more channeled Psychic and hammered the hybrid attack down upon the recovering Pokemon. The brutal attack failed to down Diantha's Gardevoir, who managed to let off one last attack before being forced to the ground by a final Psychic controlled by Relvic.

Relvic saw the Shadow Ball approach, but did not see the Psychic attack wrapped inside it. As Rain took the hit she was thrown across the underground stadium. Rain closed off her mind to force Relvic back into his body just before she hammered into the northern wall.

Relvic screamed out both vocally and psychically _"Rain!"_

He bolted toward Rain's limp form knowing that she was still alive, but unsure as to her exact condition. Rain's form reverted to normal and began to stir just before Relvic reached her, _I'm OK, not sure about the truck though._

Relvic's mind snapped to the glowing stone concealed within the gauntlet on his left hand. He swore loudly and tore at the gauntlet as the whole assembly began to generate heat. He managed to shatter the gauntlet and kicked the now blindingly bright stone as hard as he could toward an unoccupied corner of the arena. The stone plinked twice before hitting the ground a third time with a bang as it exploded outwards with significant force for such a small object. Rain lifted her left hand and focused, allowing her to contain the small blast within a psychic barrier and direct the force downward into the ground. Multicolored shrapnel hammered into the sphere and skittered to the ground. Relvic clutched his hand but turned to Rain, "Are you OK? Does anything hurt?" Rain did not respond, she was more focused on Diantha and her Gardevoir.

They stood and simply looked at each other. Diantha nodded and recalled her Gardevoir, "I forfeit, I've seen enough to know that you are more than capable of challenging the Kalos gyms." She smiled and, after a short pause, continued, "I'll also keep my word, as I forfeited it is to be logged as a loss. I will make sure you're a citizen by the end of the day." Diantha approached, "Now...What the heck happened to that Mega-Stone?"

Relvic smiled and pulled a clear containment cylinder from the bag slung over his shoulder, "It wasn't a real Mega-Stone."

Diantha stopped dead and took several seconds to respond, "Wait...WHAT?

Relvic held the cylinder out toward her so she could see the helix-shaped floating shards, "This has been in my family for generations. We called it the Float Stone, I'd been trying to recreate it for years, thinking that I could pry some kind of anti-gravitational technology from it, until Professor Sycamore released his preliminary study on Mega-Evolution I thought I had completely failed. Then I realized that I had though would be there was something completely different." Relvic paused for a moment, "I figured out that it's actually shattered Mega-Stone. I was able to create a few replicas while attempting to replicate the force that holds the fragments in the helix pattern, most of which were destroyed while trying to figure out what I had done wrong. Three were left when Sycamore's paper was released."

"But you managed to create Mega-Stones! That's huge!"

Relvic smiled, "Yea, but no one else can use them but Rain and myself. And even then they've all exploded after she reverts back to her normal form."

Diantha beamed regardless, "Still, that's closer than anyone has ever come, even Lysandre needed a true stone!"

"Yea, but that was the last and best one. The lab that I used to create them was dismantled by the Veltrak Regional Government."

Diantha responded with enthusiasm, "So you build an new lab!"

Relvic shook his head, "I can't, some of that equipment was ancient, dating back to this Regions Great War. Other bits required exceedingly rare resources to create. I don't have the resources or capital to rebuild it."

"We should go an see Professor Sycamore! He'll be interested to hear what you learned one way or another!"

Relvic smiled weakly before turning back to Rain and offering his hand to help her up, "Can you make it?"

_I'm fine, a little bruised and sore, but I'll live._

Relvic smiled and helped Rain off the ground before looking back at Diantha, "Lead the way."

The group returned to the elevator at the side of the arena and returned to the surface of the city.

While not rushing Diantha quickly led the two through the streets toward the Kalos Pokemon Institute. Rain an Relvic were easily able to maintain pace.

Rain stopped dead when a voice directed at only her spoke in a language she did not recognize, but understood perfectly, **"Little one,"** Relvic and Diantha were still moving forward through the crowded street, **"May I interest you with your fortune?"** Rain looked to her left and easily identified the man sitting at a table facing the direction the group had come from. The man was unlike any other on the crowded street, clothed in what seemed to be almost casual combat gear complete with trench coat with black sunglasses concealing his eyes, careful gloved finger work shuffled a tarot deck mid-air. Rain approached cautiously, and sat in the chair that had been pushed out, beckoning for her to seat herself. **"Now little one, what would you like to know?"**

Rain looked at the man, unsure what he meant. She spoke gracefully in her natural language, **"What does the future hold?"**

The man's ghostly white face twisted into a wicked smile with a response, **"Ah, yes, the future, that's usually the first thing people ask about."** He pulled the deck together and placed it before Rain, **"I need you to cut the deck. It will infuse the cards with your fate." **Rain reached forward and fumbled with the cards for a few moments, unable to grip it with her three fingered hand. She managed to cut the deck fairly quickly despite this. The man reached forward again and shuffled the deck once again, Rain lost track of individual cards as the deck seemed to become fluid and shimmered with an otherworldly sheen. Cards began to fall from the deck seemingly without definition before landing before Rain in a pattern. After a few moments the man consolidated the remainder of the deck and placed it to the side before tapping some of the cards closest to Rain, **"I see the Fool before the Lovers in the very near past, I assume that's for you and your...trainer." **Rain shifted uncomfortably at the emphasized word. The man pointed at the nearest lone card to Rain, **"This symbolizes you, it could symbolize an undying love...or an intrinsic knowledge of the future." **He motioned to a distanced trio of cards, **"This is most likely the one you love, they are likely forward thinking and driven by a powerful desire to bring happiness to those close to him...but my guess is that you are the only one that he is near, an Ill Death hovers about him, he is likely dying, or near death at every moment." **The man brought attention to a single card within a complex web of cards, **"The Seven of Cups tells me that there is a choice in you future, it is somewhat distant, and it has several outcomes...there will likely be four possibilities, others may be hidden from me, in confrontation of this event. He motioned at the ends of the chains, one leads the the Ill Devil, I would advise you to guide yourself as far from that future as possible, be wary, for this is the easiest future to reach. Another leads to Death. The third leads to a stagnant but stable future, but you'd have to work for it, just as much as the other would." **The man remained silent for some time.

Rain began to worry, **"What does that final future bring?"**

The man smiled and pointed at a specific card in the chain, **"The most difficult path of all leads to..." **The man paused and tapped on several cards before continuing, **"Sorry, the cards seem to contradict themselves...I can see great happiness, but also brief and horrible loss..." **The man tapped on a trio of cards, **"These seem to be the end, The Emperor, the Empress, and the Fool...I am uncertain what it could mean exactly...the Emperor usually signifies someone willing to take up responsibility, the Empress could be stability, material wealth, the achievement of goals...with the Fool it could have something to do with a new life...though that could just mean a new journey to take together..." **The man sighed and chuckled, **"You have a most unusual future little one, most unusual and interesting..."** The man pulled the glove from his left hand and pulled two cards face down from the deck, **"In return for allowing me to know your future I will show you what I am." **In the brief pause that followed Rain finally felt a flicker of emotion from the man against the background noise around her, all she could tell is that it was some pure emotion without any tinges, otherwise it was completely alien to her. The man flipped the cards over to show the Hanged Man and the Devil, **"Remember little one, many paths lie before you two, there are many possibilities and many disasters, I have but one piece of advise."** The man raised his right hand to his face and pulled the glasses from his face as a wicked smile reveled elongated canines, Rain stared into his glowing crimson-red eyes and felt as if the man was delving into her soul, **"Trust no one." **

Rain felt a hand grab her right arm and pull her out of the chair and away from the man as he began to flip the cards over. She was only barely able to catch her balance as Diantha moved herself between the now rising figure and Rain. "Leave these two alone, they do not need your tainted influence Strauss!" Her normally composed voice dripping with venom.

The shaded glasses were already on the man's face as he looked toward the actor, "I'm only here to guide them into a happier life, just as I do for all mankind."

Diantha contained a fury unlike any Rain had ever felt before, "The Prophet of Profit means only to further himself, no matter how may innocent people burn!"

Relvic took his place beside Rain as the man held out his now gloved left hand with a shimmering card, "Little one, I believe you will make good use of this." Rain reached around Diantha cautiously and took the card as the man continued, "I see that my presence here has caused a great disharmony, I recommend that we both go in different directions to maintain what little peace remains."

Diantha looked around at everyone that stared at her, some genuinely terrified that the woman they admired could bring forth such rage. Diantha regained her posture and stated with a lethal tone, "You leave these two alone."

Diantha turned and continued toward the Kalos Pokemon Institute. _Did he do anything to you?_

Rain looked Relvic in the eyes with a disarming look, _No._

Relvic turned to follow Diantha while Rain took one last look at the man. A brief flicker of indefinable emotion flicked from him as he looked at the cards meant for himself again. He quickly buried them within the deck before disappearing into the crowd. Rain turned and ran to catch up with Relvic and the still fuming Diantha.

Professor Sycamore looked between Relvic and Rain skeptically before turning back to Diantha, "Are you sure they created a Mega-Evolution with a false stone?"

Diantha nodded, "Yes, Relvic told me that he had somehow created the stone."

Sycamore laughed, "I'll believe it when I see it!"

Relvic rummaged through his bag for a few moments and pulled forth a small journal and the Float Stone, "I believe that this should answer a number of questions."

Sycamore took the journal and container from Relvic and placed the stone on a nearby surface before sitting in a chair and cracking the book open in his left hand. Several minutes passed as he continued reading the manuscript. While reading Sycamore asked, "So you weren't trying to create Mega-Stones initially?"

Relvic shook his head, "No, I didn't even know what Mega-Evolution was until you released your study."

Sycamore's face twisted in mild confusion, "Interesting, but how did you even begin to recreate them?"

"Page fifty-three."

Sycamore flipped through the pages, "...Oh...How much energy did that take to kick-start?"

Relvic chuckled, "We didn't, Rain and I worked together to force the reaction." He looked toward Rain, "If not for her none of it would have been possible..."

Sycamore looked up from the book at the Gardevoir, "Wait...wouldn't that take..." Sycamore shot up sending the chair he had been sitting in clattering to the ground, "She managed to create a Singularity? And live?"

Relvic blinked several times before answering hesitantly, "Yes...is that unusual?"

"It's impossible! It would kill her instantly!" Sycamore looked at him, "Quit lying."

Relvic looked at Rain, _Are you willing to show him?_

She looked back, _Yes, it'll be fine._

Relvic looked back at Sycamore, "We'll show you then. Do you have an open area nearby?"

Sycamore eyeballed the two before standing and responding, "There's an indoor arena downstairs."

Diantha followed Sycamore closely as he led the group toward the field, "Why don't you believe them?"

Sycamore responded quickly, "Let me start by saying that his work on Mega-stones looks legit. It's just that Gardevoirs are killed when they create a Singularity, that's just how it works." He paused for a moment and stopped, "When a Gardevoir focuses it's energy to collapse space it has to focus it where it's power is strongest."

Diantha stopped and looked at Sycamore, "You mean as close to the horn as possible?"

"No, I mean in it. The maximum power output possible occurs at the center of the horn, it allows full power to be used and focused without loosing energy to distance."

Diantha smiled, "Then you're forgetting something. Rain has three horns."

Sycamore continued moving before responding, "Maybe, but then there's the power problem again, she has to push power beyond herself and I've never heard about a human being able to give a Pokemon power, even psychically."

Sycamore continued in silence until they arrived at the arena

Rain and Relvic stood in the middle of the room before Relvic warned, "We're going to start now." Sycamore gave them a thumbs up before triggering a camera to record. Relvic put his hand on Rain's shoulder as she raised her arms out, the two focusing horns on her wrists glowing a bright orange. Relvic could feel Rain pull a massive amount of energy from him as the space between her hands began to darken. Relvic mentally reached through Rain and used the sensory horn on her back to create a field around the forming Singularity. A tiny black boundary appeared at the center of the field that light bent around. Relvic called out, without pulling his hand from Rain's shoulder, "It's stable."

Within just a few moments Sycamore was at their side, video camera in hand, "Well...I guess I'll be eating my words then."

Relvic squeezed Rain's shoulder, _Go ahead and release it._

Rain nodded just before the black dot flashed and disappeared.


End file.
